With Genda Phool — which had Jacqueline Fernandez swaying to the foot-tapping beats of the track in a red and white sari — rapper Badshah and Payal Dev made for a hit musician combo in 2020, with a majority of the Indian population playing the song on loop. Cut to 2022 and the duo is back to recreate the same magic with their upcoming track, Tauba.
Just like Genda Phool, Tauba is a rhythmic mix of Badshah’s swag and Payal’s sultry voice, though the element of folk is replaced by smoother notes. Adding oomph to the chic music video is south-Indian actress Malavika Mohanan with her sensual moves.
Badshah’s gothic look also gives the video an eerie touch. Talking about the look, Badshah says, “I love my uber-cool diabolic look in the video and have never donned this avatar before. We had so much fun making the song and dancing to it for the video. Now we want the audiences to have the same fun! (sic)”
Talking about the latest collaboration, Payal avers, “When I wrote Tauba, I instantly knew I wanted to work with him again. While the song has all the makings of a chart-topper, I feel its USP is the slick music video. It’s chic, it’s trendy and we had a ball shooting for it. I thoroughly enjoy working with Badshah (sic).”
Badshah and Payal have also been working on projects independently. While Badshah has had hits like Voo Doo and Tabahi, to name a few, Payal released tracks like Dhunki, Kuch Baatein, Pyaar Hai, and more.